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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2014 49 Sport FOOTBALL Villa stun Liverpool to move up to second A review of Saturday's action in the Barclays Premier League GABRIEL Agbonlahor's ninth- minute goal was enough to give Aston Villa a shock 1-0 victory at Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers rested the in- form Raheem Sterling and handed debuts to Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic but the Reds struggled to find their usual rhythm at An- field. Instead, it was Villa who took a surprise early lead as Liverpool failed to clear a corner and Ag- bonlahor reacted first to prod the ball across the line. The hosts pressed and probed in the second half but even Sterling's introduction failed to inspire an equaliser as Philippe Coutinho was denied by the post and Villa held on for an impressive three points. The victory means Paul Lam- bert's men climb to second in the table and remain unbeaten in the league this season. Diego Costa hit a hat-trick as leaders Chelsea came from behind to beat Swansea 4-2 and maintain their 100 per cent start to the sea- son. Swansea took an early lead when John Terry turned Neil Taylor's cross into his own net but Costa pulled Jose Mourinho's team level on the stroke of half-time. The striker added two more in the second half to take his tally to seven goals in four matches and substitute Loic Remy found the net on his Chelsea debut to add to the woe for Swansea, who scored a second late on through Jonjo Shelvey. Martin Demichelis seized a point for champions Manchester Cit y with a late headed equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the day's opening match at the Emirates. Arsenal were on track for vic- tory after man of the match Jack Wilshere inspired a second-half fightback, firing a wonderful equaliser before teeing up Alexis Sanchez's sublime volley. But Demichelis rescued a draw from a pulsating match when he nodded Aleksandar Kolarov's cor- ner past Wojciech Szczesny in the 84th minute. It was a bitter blow to Arse- nal, who appeared to have done enough to mark Danny Welbeck 's debut with a precious victory over their title rivals. Graziano Pelle bagged two goals as Southampton recorded a con- vincing 4-0 win over Newcastle. Pelle's first-half double put Saints in charge before Jack Cork made it three after half-time and Morgan Schneiderlin added a fourth to pile the misery on the Magpies. Harry Kane's own-goal eight minutes from time saw Sunder- land salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham. Spurs took the lead in the second minute as Emmanuel Adebayor's shot was parried and Nacer Chad- li pounced on the rebound but Adam Johnson equalised almost immediately with a curling effort. Christian Eriksen restored Tot- tenham's advantage early in the second period but the hosts res- cued a point late on when a free- kick diverted off Kane into the net. Romelu Lukaku scored against his former club as Everton claimed their first three points of the cam- paign with a comfortable 2-0 vic- tory at West Brom. Lukaku found the net within two minutes and Kevin Mirallas doubled the advantage midway through the second half. Leicester also registered their first win of the campaign as a su- perb second-half goal from Leon- ardo Ulloa gave Nigel Pearson's side a 1-0 win at Stoke. Crystal Palace had Julian Sper- oni to thank for a goalless draw against Burnley as the Eagles goalkeeper kept out a late Scott Arfield penalt y. Palace defender Scott Dann was denied by the woodwork in the first half but it was Arfield who had the best opportunit y to win the game, only to see his spot-kick saved. Aston Villa celebrate the 1-0 victory over Liverpool Download the MaltaToday App now